Pope Francis Celebrates Mass in Philadelphia Amid Heightened Security

By Alastair Jamieson, Katie Primm and Kasie Hunt
NBC News
September 26, 2015

http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/pope-francis-visits-america/philadelphia-lockdown-pope-francis-makes-historic-visit-n434166

Pope Francis arrived in Philadelphia Saturday morning, the final stop on his historic, three-city U.S. trip.

Crowds gathered at dawn there amid high security as Francis prepared to promote religious freedom in the birthplace of American independence.

The city awoke to 8-foot-tall mesh fences, concrete barriers and bike racks lining the streets as airport-style security — including TSA agents — was installed for the pontiff's visit.

He arrived at the City of Brotherly Love after taking off from from New York's JFK airport at 9:10 a.m. ET on a chartered American Airlines Boeing 777, landing at Philadelphia International Airport shortly before 10 a.m. for a full day of activities.

Pope Francis arrives in Philadelphia. NBC News

The popular and unpredictable pope shook hands with a small group of greeters and waved for cameras on the tarmac before getting into a small black Fiat that was bound for Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul as crowds watched and cheered from behind barricades.

But seconds after getting into the car, Francis, spotting a child in a wheelchair behind the barricades, got out. He walked over and kissed the child on the head before climbing back into the backseat of the Fiat.

At Cathedral Basilica, Francis will hold a Mass for about 1,200 people. This afternoon, he will hold a speech on religious freedom and immigration in front of Independence Hall.

The 78-year-old Buenos Aires-born pontiff wraps up his six-day American tour on Sunday with a Mass outside the neoclassical Philadelphia Art Museum, expected to attract as many as 1.5 million people.

A large swath of the city was shut down to cars. Rivers that flow alongside sensitive sites were locked down to any boat traffic.

A nun is checked by a TSA agent in Philadelphia Saturday. Elyse Perlmutter-Gumbiner / NBC News

The pontiff's stay in Philadelphia — as it did in Washington and New York — is requiring unprecedented security measures. About 2,000 National Guardsmen, 265 bomb technicians, and more than 160 bomb-detecting dogs were protecting the city on Saturday. Signs warned that no drones were permitted to fly through the weekend.

Mayra Sanchez came to Philadelphia from Mexico with her two children and her mother for the World Meeting of Families, an international gathering of Catholics that Francis will address. She told NBC News that the security was "great."

"We love the pope and we want him to feel comfortable and secure here," she said.

Outside Independence Hall, where the United States Declaration of Independence and Constitution were adopted, crowds began to form at 7 a.m. — but they will have to wait until 4 p.m. to see the pontiff.

He is expected to hold a rally there with Hispanic and other immigrants on the theme of religious freedom. The event combines two issues about which Francis is most concerned: the plight of immigrants seeking a better life for themselves and their families, and the freedom to practice religion.

The pope has denounced the persecution of Christians and other religious minorities in the Middle East.

Lina Blanco, 55, came to Philadelphia on Friday night from Miami. She doesn't have tickets to any of the events, but is hoping to catch a glimpse of the pope's motorcade.

"Just to be here where I know he will be is very emotional. It's the City of Brotherly Love and I'm feeling the love and the peace," she told NBC News. "Plus, I got to have a Philly cheesesteak!"

Lina Blanco, who traveled from Miami to Philadelphia, waits to see Pope Francis on John F. Kennedy Blvd. John Brecher / NBC News

In his address at the U.N. General Assembly on Friday, the pope noted that Christians and others in the Middle East "have been forced to witness the destruction of their places of worship, their cultural and religious heritage, their houses and property" and have been forced either to flee or face death or enslavement.

In his address, the pope also denounced "a selfish and boundless thirst for power and material prosperity" in the world that causes the misuse of natural resources and the exclusion of "the weak and disadvantaged."

Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi acknowledged to reporters on Friday night that the pope was tired amid a packed schedule on the trip. He said the pope usually has physical therapy for a leg problem but cannot undergo therapy during trips, so was having some difficulty with steps.